of the taxpayers as a promise, and it intends to keep that promise. The money will ... In Spring 2016 the voters approved a technology levy for the schools. This is ...
FAQ’s about Park City Facilities Planning: 1.
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When the Bond passes, what happens next? Once the bond passes, the District will continue its process of finalizing the school design. The District will continue to examine its finances to ensure the project is funded each step along the way. How much will be on the ballot for the September 27, 2016 bond? The bond will be for a total of $9.4 million which will be split between the elementary and high school districts. What happens if only one of the bond requests passes? The district will not be able to move forward if only the elementary or high school bond requests pass. We need them both to pass in order to make this a reality. How will the bond shares be sold after being passed by the voters? Park City Schools is looking at utilizing a Municipal Lending program through Western Security Bank. It is a program that keeps the money local as the bank itself will keep the bond. This program will allow us to draw on the funds during construction time and not be charged interest basically until the building is completed. When the bond passes, you can’t just change your mind and keep the money for something else like raises, can you? No. Rules regarding bonds like this are very strict. Park City Schools regards this request of the taxpayers as a promise, and it intends to keep that promise. The money will go towards new construction and any remodel of the current school that may be necessary. I thought I just voted for something for the schools. Why are you asking for money again? In Spring 2016 the voters approved a technology levy for the schools. This is specifically designated to fund technology. Why is the timing of this bond election good for our community? We are experiencing historically low interest rates which will cut the overall costs significantly. Construction costs are not an item that will decrease over the years. Why is this being run in September? Our district faces two key issues. We are overcrowded in our schools. Our classrooms were not built to handle the number of students that are currently occupying them. Also, our facilities are aging and repairing these costs more and more each year. We are not permitted to run our bond within 31 days of the general election. The end of September is our window to run this bond. The last building bond attempted was for $7 million and the vote was close. Why are we looking at something different? The last attempt was for an addition to the existing building and some heavy remodel. After listening to the reasons that bond attempt failed, the District has decided to utilize the land it purchased a while ago to start a long range building plan. Isn’t $9.4 million a hefty price for a school for 3 grades?
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This plan is not just to build a school for three grades. We are looking to build a part of the elementary as well as a new district kitchen and commons area, new administration offices, a new gym for the district, as well as parking lots and a bus and parent pick up area. This will be our anchor point for future expansion with a goal to add the rest of the elementary school and the junior high/high school as it becomes financially feasible. The gym will handle classes for grades 4-12, school activities, games, and even district tournaments. The commons area can be utilized for community events. Why do we need a new district kitchen? Our current kitchen is already too small for the number of students we run through our lunch program. It takes over 2 hours to try to feed the 200-250 kids that eat hot lunch. And we need to take a half hour break in the middle to cook for secondary students after the elementary eats as we don’t have enough ovens and warming ovens to keep food prepared. The district kitchen would prepare meals for all students. Grades 4-6 would eat in their building as would secondary students (They have almost an hour for lunch so the walk would not be a problem for them). The current kitchen would be kept as a warming kitchen to bring the food to in order to serve grades K-3 or any secondary students who might have to stay with a teacher during lunch. Why not just build a new elementary or a new high school? The District’s bonding capacity is split between two separate districts-the high school district and the elementary district. The bonding capacity combined is approximately $17 million, but individually the capacity for each district is half that. A new elementary school with a gym would cost $12-$13 million and with our bonding capacity around $8.5 million we can’t pay for it. A new high school with a gym would cost closer to $15 million and our bonding capacity is again around $8.5 million. This plan is a facility that is shared by both high school and elementary students and provides a starting position for the long range plans to add the rest of the elementary and the high school in the foreseeable future. Aren’t there alternative ways to fund a new school? In Montana there are not any real alternatives to fund a new school. There can be some debt service relief from the state, but it is minimal-generally less than $40,000 per year. A key point we look for to save money is interest rate. This is the lowest it’s been for a while and it will stay locked in for 20 years. 20 acres is a large site. Is it being master planned for our children’s future and future expansion? Yes, the site is being designed in a comprehensive way now to ensure that the District can efficiently add to the building and site amenities as needed for many years to come. Will the District’s budget be able to maintain two separate facilities? Yes. Maintenance needs on the new facility will be low. The main costs will be in cleaning which would require another housekeeper.
